Conservator appointed for suspended Erie lawyer

An Erie County judge today ordered a conservator to take over the files of a lawyer whose license has been under a temporary suspension since November.

The Disciplinary Board of the state Supreme Court had asked for the conservator for the lawyer, Lee Acquista. President Judge Ernest J. DiSantis Jr. approved the request at a brief hearing.

Acquista did not attend, but his Pittsburgh-based lawyer sent DiSantis a letter in which he said Acquista consented to the conservatorship. The conservator is another local lawyer, Adam Williams, who will notify Acquista's clients and advise them on whether they need to hire new counsel.